I've noticed in a few matches I've been watching recently that when one player is at the net, their partner is sometimes in position to cover a crosscourt net shot. Here's a very clear example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7maJnHN4yc Pause the video at 15:06 (or 15:19, same position, different camera angle) and see where Wang Xiaoli is standing. This sort of thing never happens in the club games that I play in! The "back" player always stays at the back... any tips on how/when to move up effectively? Or is this one of those advanced tactics that us mere mortals shouldn't try to imitate?
When your partner moves to the front, you have to move as well - keeping the distance between yourselves. Likewise if you are at the front. If your partner moves further to the back, you have to move back too. Doing so will allow you to cover gaps when your partner moves away from their position.
Do you mean something like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQBNukY7KYM (and similarly this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk_BvVf0STA&feature=related) All players should know how and when to rotate and help each other out, and move when their partner moves so that they are always in adjacent thirds of the court (if someone is in front court, then partner must be in mi court, and if partner is in rearcourt, then someone must be in midcourt). However, too many people don't understand how to play doubles properly, and hence the standard of badminton played and taught to new players is poor
Thanks, I've seen the second of those two videos before, but not the first one. The first video starting at 3:00 answers my question perfectly! In the past I've been taught to think about "front" and "back" in doubles, but mid-court hasn't existed as a separate place, if that makes sense.
alexh: Im glad you liked the video. It makes a lot of sense from my point of view. Too many people don't understand about the three sections of the court, especially given a player will spend most time in the mid court - especially when "playing the net". Too many people stand too far forwards, the shuttle whizzes past them, and they wonder why they can't get to intercept any shuttles. The more people that know, the better the badminton!
Totally agree on that. Took me while to get used to it because I was initially taught wrong. I'm still working on standing more upright now when in the front.
I think there are a number of minor issues here. I think that describing doubles' bases (posh name for formation) as 'front & back' and 'sides' are highly misleading. Beginners will take those names too literally. I try to always describe them as 'attacking' and 'defensive'. However, even those aren't hard and fast. There are situations where you can be attacking, but in a side-by-side formation. As has been already stated, player position is influenced by partner. Also, player positioning is hugely dependant upon the position of the shuttle. For example, if you or your partner have played a tight net-shot that isn't going to be hit above the height of the tape, there's no point covering the rear-court. Similarly, if your side have played a high and deep lift/clear, then you can defend a little further forward then usual. The video in post #1 raises an interesting point. I did hear some of the county coaches suggesting that if one player plays a straight net shot from a fore-court corner, then their partner should cover the other 3. We tried to set-up a drill involving straight & x-court net shots, but struggled to get it working. Personally, I feel it is the responsibility of the foremost partner to prevent the opposition driving through them. Therefore, the only way to hit the shuttle to the straight-rear corner is to lift/clear. This takes more time, allowing the rearmost partner to be slightly further away from this corner. This enables the rearmost partner to cover the x-court corners better. A similar situation exists when defending, especially in mixed doubles. If the x-court defender can intercept x-court drives, this enables the other player to cover both straight and the rear x-court corners.
If you play a straight net shot the front player would cover the front 2 corners, unless you were in a sides attack formation in which case each player would cover their side, I'm not surprised you ahd trouble "getting it going" covering 3 corners. When the front player goes out wide and hits down hard the most likely reply to trouble the attackers is crossblock, whoch the rear player covers. Assuming the player who has hit down doesn't allow the shuttle to go through him a lift to the rear corners is very unlikely. The same situation occurs in mixed.
